Any discussion of the prior art throughout the specification should in no way be considered as an admission that such prior art is widely known or forms part of common general knowledge in the field.
Known protective helmets typically for equestrian activities consist of a protective shell that is secured to a user's head by way of a chinstrap. These helmets are designed to cover the most crucial regions of the head, but leave unprotected areas such as the chin, jaw and cheeks. Although helmets commonly used for other purposes offer considerable projection to these less crucial areas, they are generally unsuitable for equestrian activities. For any given sport it is usual for an independent authority to set helmet safely standards. Different standards applying to equestrian helmets—as compared for example with bicycle helmets—typically render other helmets unsuitable for equestrian use. Further, the weight and bulk of alternate protective helmets is often not tolerable for competitive equestrian activities.
For equestrian activities, a protective helmet typically requires particular deflection properties to at least in theory reduce the effect of an impact from a horse's hoof. The underlying rationale is that by deflecting an impacting hoof at an appropriate angle, a substantial component of the impact is directed away from the wearer's head. Deflection requirements are often written into equestrian helmet safety standards—for example the Australian and New Zealand AS/NZ 3838 standard.
Known chinstrap systems used in conventional helmets are by no means ideal. For example: the helmet is susceptible, during an impact, to being moved out of the intended alignment with the head. This misalignment is known to increase the risk of injury of the user—for example if the temple region is exposed. In addition, chinstraps axe known to break. This results in further adverse positioning—or indeed inadvertent compete removal of the helmet. These chinstrap deficiencies apply not only to equestrian helmets, but also to a multitude of other known protective helmets.